Dirty Work in Florida to aid Allen West?

Preliminary, unofficial vote totals were filed today in the neck and neck race between Mr. West and Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy. The Murphy campaign has already declared victory, but the numbers have not been officially certified and the count goes on. The West campaign believes that they are close to the .5% vote margin that will trigger an automatic recount under Florida election law.

The vote count has been marked by controversy. Poll watchers accuse local election officials of incompetence, intimidation and possible fraud. The latest twist is that in some precincts of St. Lucie County there appear to be dozens more ballots being counted than the number of voters. The West campaign is demanding St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker release the voter poll books that show how many voters actually showed up on Election Day to validate the count. ‘What we are saying is, open your books!’ a source close to the West campaign told The Washington Times.